Cool Beans: 5 Great Cold Brew Coffee Makers

Iced coffee has been a longstanding warm-weather alternative to the hot stuff since forever, but there have always been drawbacks. As you’d expect, brewing hot coffee and then putting it on ice leads to a watery, acidic brew with as much flavor as Chuck D’s solo career. The answer is cold brew. Using cold or lukewarm water to brew coffee over a long (12-24 hour) period creates a non-acidic, flavorful (and hyper caffeinated) coffee concentrate that you can drink however you like. Rather than paying $3.50 a cup at the local highway robber coffee shop, cold-caffeine aficionados — and those who simply enjoy sipping something temperate and tasty — can make the good stuff at home with any of these five great cold brew coffee makers.

Filtron Cold Water BrewerFor the Power Drinker: Sixth cup of the morning? Awesome, us too! This brewer is simple and works just as you’d think, making seriously caffeinated coffee (great right?!?!) — and it makes a lot of it, so even the hardiest of mud-sluggers can get their fill from one brew. The Filtron consists of a pot that combines the coffee grounds and water with a filter at the bottom, and once the coffee is done you pull a small plug on the bottom to drain out your clean, tasty coffee concentrate. A solid construction and simple design mean it should last in the long run and is well worth the extra dough if you can swing it. Speaking of dough, does anybody have any doughnuts? $43

Hario Mizudashi PotFor the Minimalist: This curvaceous carafe might be the most elegant method of cold brewing iced coffee available right now (it also easily has the best name). With only two parts integrated into a one-liter pitcher, the Mizudashi makes cold brew as easy as filling the pitcher with water, loading the filter basket with coffee and leaving it to sit for 9-24 hours. The permanent filter makes for easy cleanup, but make sure you have another vessel for airtight storage. $39

Toddy T2NFor the Refined Taste on a Budget: The Toddy is a great go-to for those of us who want to have the convenience and deliciousness of a dedicated cold brew maker but don’t want to spend more than a couple Jacksons. Essentially the same setup as the Filtron, the Toddy cuts a few features here and there (most notably the filter and stopper), but the end result is the same: excellent cold brew. $35

Yama Cold Brew TowerFor the Eccentric: If your white lab coat isn’t getting enough use, consider installing the Yama tower in your kitchen. This 29-inch beauty eschews the immersion tactics of most other brewers and instead runs water, drop by drop, through coffee grounds. The resulting brew spirals down into the awaiting flask. It’s worth mentioning that all that glass makes for a fragile and hard-to-clean contraption; $250 also seems like a lot for a coffee maker. But, if you consider it a sculpture (and we do) it’s about $53 million cheaper than that Giacometti you were considering. $250

Bonus: Bodum Chambord French PressFor the Bo Jacksons: The Chambord is the same acclaimed french press you’ve seen in the background of every Dwell magazine shoot since the beginning of time. It’s classically designed, well-engineered coffee brewing excellence, sure, but it also pulls double duty as a cold brew maker. Just fill the press with coffee grounds and water (1:1 by volume, 4:1 by weight), give it a stir and let sit for 24 hours. Run it through a filter after your wait and you’ve got the dark, strong stuff ready for the sippin’. $40

In 2011, Jimmy Chin climbed one of the hardest peaks in the world, Shark's Fin on Mount Meru. What's more impressive is that he filmed the adventure, then turned it into a documentary that just won big at Sundance.